The European Commission has released new growth forecasts for the remainder of 2018 and for 2019, dropping down to a 2.1% growth rate for this year from the initially predicted 2.3%.

The report, published yesterday, gave reduced estimations for average growth across the Eurozone. Italy and the United Kingdom were the two nations expected to register the lowest growth, while Ireland and Malta were two of the highest growth rates predicted.

The revised figures come as a direct response to the ongoing trade tensions between the US and the EU, all of which is going on while oil prices continue to rise and push the Eurozone’s inflation levels higher.

Valdis Dombrovskis, the EU Commission’s Vice-President, referred to “an unfavourable external environment” and suggested it was dampening confidence and hindering economic expansion.

The EU Commission is still predicting a 2% growth rate across the Eurozone in 2019, which is unchanged from the previous forecast.